Insurers propose 17% average rate increase for Pennie health plans in 2027
Rates are subject to review and approval by Pennsylvania insurance regulators.
Insurers are asking for double-digit increases to health plans sold on Pennsylvania’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, Pennie, in 2027.
Insurers have requested an average increase of 17% for plans sold to individuals and families through Pennie. They are asking to raise the premium price of plans sold to small businesses by an average of 11.5%, according to rate requests released last week by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.
The proposed rates are not final. A public comment period is open through Aug. 22, and insurance administrators expect to release final rates this fall.
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys said in a statement that the rates were “higher than we’d hoped.”
New Jersey has not released 2027 rate requests for its ACA marketplace, Get Covered NJ.
In their rate proposals, Pennsylvania insurers said they needed to charge more to account for the rising cost of medical services and prescription drugs, and a shift in who is buying health insurance and how sick they are. Insurers are required by law to spend 80% of the money they collect through premiums on health care for members.
“Addressing rising health care costs requires a shared commitment across the health care system, and we will continue working with providers and other partners to help keep quality care within reach for the people we serve,” Independence Blue Cross, which has proposed a 14% average premium increase, said in a statement.
The proposed increases for 2027 come on top of massive price hikes in ACA marketplaces this year, when a critical financial incentive program was eliminated. The cost of a Pennie health plan more than doubled for many in 2026 and 177,000 people have dropped coverage as a result.
Advocates worry that another price increase will cause even more people to drop coverage, which could further raise costs.
“If these proposed rates take effect, even more Pennsylvanians are likely to be priced out of coverage,” Antoinette Kraus, executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, which helps people enroll in coverage, said in a statement.
Rising costs and premium prices
A major factor that affects the cost of insurance is who the plan will cover — how healthy or sick they are, and how much the plan will need to spend on their care.
Healthy young adults who have few healthcare expenses typically help balance the higher cost of insuring older adults who may have multiple chronic conditions.
But young adults — many buying insurance on their own for the first time — can be highly sensitive to cost. They have been among those dropping out of ACA plans at the greatest rates after Congress failed to renew a financial incentive program that ensured no one paid more than 8.5% of their income on insurance.
About a third of adults who dropped out of Pennie health plans so far this year were under age 34, according to state data.
“They’re the ones looking at the cost and saying, ‘Well I’m pretty healthy right now, I’m going to take the gamble,’” said Devon Trolley, Pennie’s executive director.
People with ongoing medical needs are more likely to stick with their plan, despite cost increases.
Pennie’s 2027 enrollment period will run Nov. 1 through Jan. 15.
Lawmakers have not shown signs of bringing back the enhanced tax credits, which were introduced in 2021 and had been renewed annually since.
Income-based tax credits that are part of the ACA are still available. People remain eligible for these tax credits if they earn up to 400% of the federal poverty level — about $62,600 a year for an individual or $128,600 for a family of four.
